anned.said Szuszkiewicz  Cocktail Dresses Christmas Day , who will celebrate his 31st birthday the day the experiment ends.The year sans spending had its ups and downs.Phillips' best friend got engaged halfway through the project, and the friend admitted she was nervous to ask Phillips to be her maid of honour because of the experiment.So I purchased a dress and a pair of shoes for her wedding.The experiment forced both Phillips and Szuszkiewicz to slow down, be conscious of their values and deeply examine their relationship with money.When Phillips got a new job, she moved out of Szuszkiewicz's home in May so she would be closer to work, because the project taught her a short sans-car commute was important to her.The pair spent a lot of time cooking.Refraining from dining out or buying a quick coffee or snack, or hopping into the car when they wanted to go somewhere, meant planning ahead was important.Phillips, a social-butterfly, said cutting out eating and drinking with friends was the hardest part of the year-long adventure.The experiment forced the duo to get creative.They volunteered at events and festivals so they could attend for free.They learned to make port wine.They borrowed items they needed but didn't have.They installed an aquaponics system that produced greens and reduced their grocery bill further.They inherited stuff from friends, who were eager to discuss why they were willingly cutting consumerism out of their lives.said Phillips with a laugh.I found people have a lot of stuff in their lives that they don't want anymore.Neither Szuszkiewicz or Phillips are counting down the days until Sunday, when they experiment is officially over and they can finally spend freely.And, as for the future?Weddings are supposed to be happy occasions.The recent nuptials of my best friend Marla were no exception, featuring a beautiful bride, smiling relatives and plenty of children racing around, high on cake and up way past their bedtimes.Marla and I have known each other since college;Marina, to serve as co-maids of honour, and so on a warm July evening we celebrated her union to her wonderful husband Rick, toasting their joy and laughing in the sunshine.But weddings can also be bittersweet.They raise memories, of places, people and experiences we thought we had lain to rest, both literally and figuratively.And so it was that, gazing out at the banquet hall from my seat at the head table, I suddenly realized that something was amiss.The chair next to my mother was empty.The reason for the empty chair was purely innocent.It was initially occupied by my five-year old daughter Zara, who was serving as co-flower girl with the bride's niece, Rachel.Zara took her part so seriously that she walked up and down the aisle not once  Evening Dresses Christmas Day , but three times, during the ceremony, to ensure that the petals were properly distributed.She was in heaven: in love with her dress, the mushroom appetizers, and Rachel, with whom she had become fast friends.But Zara became inconsolable at dinner when she realized that Mummy would not be sitting with her.She sobbed at me across the room, uncomforted even by the presence of her grandmother.I went over to explain that Mummy had to sit with the bride, because my job was to take care of her needs during the wedding.You're supposed to take care of me!Then I suggested she sit with Rachel.Tears disappeared and Zara happily ensconced herself at the table of the bride's brother, his three children, and his lovely wife, whom I thanked profusely.I returned to my friend, my mother remained sitting next to my partner Bill, and everyone's dinner went on swimmingly.My father loved my friend Marla, and he would have loved to be at her weddingThat is, until my gaze fell upon the empty chair.Suddenly I felt a wave of grief so powerful it nearly knocked me over.I couldn't eat, I couldn't speak.I began to cry just like my daughter had.And all I could think was: That chair should not be empty.Papa should be sitting in that chair.My father died the day after Christmas, 2012, age 87, after a years-long battle with emphysema and, in the end, dementia.But it wasn't that Papa, old and frail, that I remembered.It was the father I knew before, who cut a dapper figure in his suit, made sarcastic jokes  Prom Dresses Christmas Day , and charmed my friends at events like this.He loved my friend Marla, and he would have loved to be at her wedding.He would have chatted with her parents and the groom.all the while secretly pleased that he still noticed, after four decades of marriage.But he wouldn't do that tonight, or any night.The chair beside my mother would always be empty.The co-maid of honour asked me what was wrong, but I couldn't say.We hurried into the hall, where I sat mute for several minutes before finally choking out the words: I miss my father.She had lost her own father to Parkinson's several years before, and had experienced the same sudden grief, in unexpected places and random moments, since he passed.And it will happen again.We sat there until I composed myself.I didn't want to upset my mother.After we went to bed, I told Bill what had happened, and he held me tight in the darkness.He had never much cared for the groom, but was too classy to say it directlyThinking about the experience the next day, I remembered my own wedding, nearly two decades ago, at which my father gave a speech that, on the surface, seemed quite beautiful.But dear Papa had a clever way with words.I want to congratulate my daughter on the occasion of her first marriage.I still smile at this.He had never much cared for the groom, but was too classy to say it directly.Prophetically, the union was dissolved four years later.I know Papa wouldn't have spoken those words at Marla's wedding; Rick is the good man all fathers want their daughters to marry.My father would have been supremely happy for her, as we all were.And the day before, July 17, would have been his 89th birthday.and a somewhat unlikely officiant.Below, the five things we know about the private ceremony, based on .